Adaptive Estimation and Stochastic Control for Uncertain Models

Electrical Engineerin

Relationship between the foreign language classroom anxiety and Chinese character achievement among Laos Mandarin students

The main aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety (FLCA) and Chinese character achievement of Mandarin learners in Laos. The sample of the research consisted of 133 (54 females, 79 males) attending a three-year Mandarin course at Hua Qiao Champasak Technology College. The results of Pearson correlation revealed foreign language classroom anxiety was found to be significantly and positively correlated with English achievement (r=0.178, p<0.05). In addition, although independent sample t-test showed there was no significant difference in Chinese character achievement and foreign language classroom anxiety between male students and female students, the mean (M=104.48) demonstrated that females exhibited higher levels of anxiety than males (M=103.47), and females’ achievement (M=23.24) are lower than males (M=24.94). Following these results, certain suggestions were set for foreign language teachers to be aware of foreign language classroom anxiety level, its causes, and results in Mandarin language classroom settings

An exploratory study of the relationships between advertising appeals, spending tendency, perceived social status and materialism on perfume purchasing behavior

The purpose of the study was to investigate the purchasing behavior of Malaysians and its association with advertising appeals, tendency to spend, perceived social status and materialism. Data for this study was obtained through self-administered using convenience sampling. A total of 120 respondents were collected in Berjaya Megamall Kuantan, Pahang, Malaysia. The findings of the study revealed that those respondents who willing to spend money on perfume product had high level of advertising appeals, perceive social status, materialism and moderate level of tendency to spend. This study is important to the marketers to understand the consumer’s purchasing behavior on perfume. The marketer also could understand the market segmentation than make them to be more competitive and utilize target market wisely

Mastery of Hanyu Pinyin of Non-native Speakers

Proficiency in third language is a much-needed added value present day. Third language learning has been highlighted in the Malaysia Education Blueprint 2013 - 2025. One of the skills that needs to be mastered by students is communication in social situations using Malay, English and an additional language. There is an increase of trend in primary and tertiary educational institutions in Malaysia offering foreign language courses. Mandarin has become one of the most popular elective course options among students due to the factor of better career opportunities in the future. Hence, the purpose of this study is to examine the non-native speakers’ mastery in Hanyu Pinyin at the early stage. This study uses a survey to answer the main research questions. With the aim of achieving the research main goal, a survey will be conducted accordingly. Questionnaire instruments will be given to the students taking Mandarin language subjects at a public university. The findings of this study are expected to elevate the university, especially the for the academicians to produce high quality graduates with the ability to speak a third language fluently. On top of that, it will also enhance the university's reputation with outstanding student achievement, thus benefiting national development especially in international relations

Accessibility to Urban Facilities among Rural Older Malaysians

This article discuss a computer-based mapping tool called a geographic information system (GIS), which can present the inter-spatial variations for certain accessibility indicators of older Malaysians in color-coded or symbol-coded thematic maps. This article also introduces the GIS and how it can help in profiling certain characteristics of older Malaysians. Types of Out-of-home activities and perceived barriers to town among the older persons were also been explored in this study. In conclusion, it is recommended for both government and Non-governmental Organization (NGO) should take initiatives to identify the most effective ways of ensuring that the outdoor environment is designed inclusively to improve the quality of life of the older persons

Student Evaluation of Lecturer Performance Among Private University Students

The evaluation of lecturer performance at the end of the semester is widely practicedby learning institutions and universities. The results of the evaluations are beneficial in understanding the areas of possible improvement for the lecturer. The purpose of this study is to identify the factors and predictors of lecturer performance among undergraduates in a private university in Malaysia using the existing questionnaire. A total of 223 respondents were recruited using multistage sampling.The results of this study showed that lecturer and tutor characteristics (r = 0.722, p < 0.01), subject characteristics (r = 0.699, p < 0.01), the studentship (r = 0.472, p < 0.01), and learning resources and facilities (r = 0.650, p < 0.01) were positively correlated with overall lecturer performance. Stepwise hierarchical regression was used to determine the predictors of overall lecturer performance among the students. The results of the final model showed that lecturer and tutor characteristics, subject characteristics, and learning resources and facilities explained 61.9% of the variance in overall lecturer performance among students (F = 118.732, p < 0.01). Knowing the predictors of overall lecturer performance would help the lecturer and university identify the specific areas for improving the performance of the lecturer. Key words: Lecturer and tutor characteristics; Subject characteristics; Learning resources and facilities; Overall performanc

Control design for PMM-based generator fed by active front-end rectifier in more-electric aircraft

The future aircraft electrical power system is expected to be more efficient, safer, simpler in servicing and easier in maintenance. As a result, many existing hydraulic and pneumatic power driven systems are being replaced by their electrical counterparts. This trend is known as a move towards the More-Electric Aircraft (MEA). As a result, a large number of new electrical loads have been introduced in order to power many primary functions including actuation, de-icing, cabin airconditioning, and engine start. Therefore electric power generation systems have a key role in supporting this technological trend. Advances in modern power electronics allow the concept of starter/generator (S/G) which enables electrical engine start and power generation using the same electrical machine. This results in substantial improvements in power density and reduced overall weight. One of the potential S/G solutions is to employ a permanent magnet machine (PMM) controlled by active front-end rectifier (AFE). Operation of the PMM as a generator at wide range of speed that is dictated by the engine and electrical loads connected to the aircraft bus require careful design of the controllers. Corresponding plant models are derived and verified with simulations using developed models in Matlab/Simulink. The relevant controllers are designed based on the derived plants and operating points. The controllers are tested with Simulink models and experimentally using a scaled prototype of the investigated generator system

Predictors of driving practices among older drivers: two ethnic groups comparison in Peninsular Malaysia

Background: The speed of aging has led to a considerable attention on traffic safety among older drivers. Objective: This study aims to determine the driving practices and identify predictor variables that significantly contribute to safe driving practices among older drivers in different ethnic groups at Peninsular Malaysia. Method: The cross-sectional design and face-to-face interview protocol was used to collect 400 respondents aged 50 years and over. Findings: Generally, older Malaysian drivers are practicing safe driving practices (M = 34.79, SD = 3.48). Results of multiple linear regression analysis indicated that 22.8% variance of driving practices was explained by six variables that also significant at correlation level (F = 9.508, p = 0.05). This study also found that different ethnicity group having different determinants of safe driving practices. Conclusion: The provided information about the determinants of safe driving practices and ethnic differences among older drivers can contributes knowledge in gerontology field. The collected information is also important to provide insights for road planning system and training programs to improve road safety among older drivers

An Exploratory Study of the Relationships between Advertising Appeals, Spending Tendency, Perceived Social Status and Materialism on Perfume Purchasing Behavior

Abstract The purpose of the study was to investigate the purchasing behavior of Malaysians and its association with advertising appeals, tendency to spend, perceived social status and materialism. Data for this study was obtained through self-administered using convenience sampling. A total of 120 respondents were collected in Berjaya Megamall Kuantan, Pahang, Malaysia. The findings of the study revealed that those respondents who willing to spend money on perfume product had high level of advertising appeals, perceive social status, materialism and moderate level of tendency to spend. This study is important to the marketers to understand the consumer&apos;s purchasing behavior on perfume. The marketer also could understand the market segmentation than make them to be more competitive and utilize target market wisely. Keywords: Advertising appeals, tendency to spend, social status, materialism, purchasing behavior Introduction According to On the other hand, the internal factors refer to the tendency to spend, perceived social status, and materialism of the consumers. Previous study found that possessions are important and consumers had different desire to consume products or services (Belk, 1988 as cited in Fitzmaurice, 2008. The difference between involvement and information processing among consumer was significantly influence the attitude towards the consumer product © Centre for Promoting Literature Review Numerous of previous studies have been focused on consumer demographics and purchasing behavior. According to Wilkie (1995) as cited in The study found that all of the selected appeals had different influence on consumer at stage of attention, purchase and re-purchase decision. Refreshment, product attributes and educative information under rational appeals influences all the three stages among consumers. While, thrill and pride under emotional appeals only influence consumer at stage of purchase decision. On the other hand, Ruiz and Silicia (2004) explained that advertising appeals can be divided by cognitive and/or affective processing styles among consumers. They found that informational and informational-emotional advertising appeals could lead consumer to have positive attitude towards brand, higher purchase intention and brand choice. However, limited study has been conducted to explore how the advertising appeals influence perfume purchasing behavior. A study conducted by Objectives of the study The purpose of the study was to investigate the consumers perfume purchasing behavior and its association with advertisement appeals, tendency to spend, perceived social status and materialism. Methodology Sampling and Location A multistage sampling was employed to recruit respondents. The function of case selection in Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) was used. At first stage, one state was randomly selected from the poll list of 14 states that is Pahang state. Secondly for the location of this study, this study aimed to interview respondent in shopping mall. Berjaya Megamall Kuantan was chosen randomly out of the list of shopping mall in Pahang state. Later, quota sampling was used for sample selection. A total of 20 female respondents and 20 male respondents from each age group of 21 to 25, 26 to 30 and 31 to 35 were chosen accordingly. The inclusion criterion in respondent selection is the individual who are currently using perfume. Measurement of Variables Perfume purchasing behavior was measured by stating the spending amount in a year for the perfume product. Each item has five response categories, ranging from 1 = &quot;Does not apply&quot; to 5 = &quot;Very important&quot;. Advertising appeals was measured with a list of eight items of advertising appeals adopt from Verma (2009) by each scale item has five response categories, ranging from 1 = &quot;Does not apply&quot; to 5 = &quot;Very important&quot;. The minimum total score was eight and maximum total score was 40. Advertising appeals were categorized as low (8 to18 points), moderate (19 to 29 points) and high (30 to 40 points) using equal range. There are six items to measure tendency to spend instrument was adopted from Jalees (2007). The responses vary from 1 = &quot;strongly disagree&quot; to 5 = &quot;strongly agree&quot;. The total minimum score was six and total maximum score was 30. Further, tendency to spend were categorized as low (6 to13 points), moderate (14 to 21 points) and high (22 to 30 points) using equal range. Three items of perceived social status instrument and three items of materialism instrument also adopted from Jalees (2007). The responses for both instruments are vary from 1 = &quot;strongly disagree&quot; to 5 = &quot;strongly agree&quot;. The total minimum score was three and total maximum score was 15. Further, perceived social status and materialism were categorized as low (3 to 6 points), moderate (7 to 10 points) and high (11 to 15 points) using equal range. Research and Findings Profile of the Respondents A total of 60 males and 60 females were equally distributed. The respondents were formed by three age group start from 21 to 25, 26 to 30 and 31 to 35. The result showed that majority of the respondents were Chinese (59.2%) followed by Malay (28.3%) and minority of them were Indian (11.7%). Looking at the monthly income, 48.3% of the respondents obtained RM 2000 or below and 30.0% of them obtained RM2000 to RM3000. About 22.0% of the respondents obtained RM3001 and above per month. Further, the study found that there is a significant relation between monthly income and gender [Pearson χ 2 (2, N = 120) = 8.65, p ≤ 0.05]. However, there is no significant relationship between monthly income and ethnicity was found to be not correlated or not related [Pearson χ 2 (6, N = 120) = 3.36, p ≥ 0.05]. Advertising Appeal Tendency to Spend Perceived Social Status Materialism Purchasing Behavior Majority of the respondents (93.3%) had low level of purchasing behavior. They spent less than RM3, 000 on perfume product per year. Only, 5.0% of the respondents had moderate level that the respondents spent RM3, 001 to RM 6,000 and only 1.7% of the respondents in high level of purchasing behavior spent RM6,001 to RM10,000 on perfume product per year. The minimum spent was RM30 and the maximum spent was RM10000. There was a significant relationship between purchasing behavior and gender [Pearson χ 2 (2, N = 120) = 8.57, p ≤ 0.05]. The result showed that female respondents were more spend their money for the perfume product than male. Besides, Drury (2000) found female respondents believed that complete realization of their improved self image was just purchase. Correlation of Purchasing Behavior with Selected Variables Pearson Moment Correlation was used to test whether the relationship between advertising appeals, tendency to spend, perceived social status and materialism with purchasing behavior on perfume. Besides, tendency to spend have influence toward respondents in Kuantan to spend for the perfume product. This means that the lower the level of tendency to spend, the lower the purchasing behavior of respondents, and vice versa. Duesenberry (1949) as cited in International Journal of Business and Social Science Vol. 2 No. 10; June 2011 206 This means that the lower the level of materialism, the lower the purchasing behavior of respondents, and vice versa. With a primary dimension of Richins and Dawson&quot;s (1992) definition of materialism is possessiondefined success. Thus, this study supported by previous study that consumer with high levels of materialism are more prone to be spenders than savers Conclusion, Implications and Recommendations The study found that advertising appeals, tendency to spend, perceived social status and materialism influence respondent&quot;s purchasing behavior in Kuantan to spend for the perfume product. Understanding the factors that influenced consumer&quot;s purchasing behavior was an opportunity for marketer to understand the market segments. With the market segmentation, marketer can identify the groups of perfume&quot;s customer and their behavior. Besides, marketer can improved the market position to meet target market. Understand the market segments also can make marketer more competitive and utilize target market. The study also found that advertising appeals was important to influence consumer&quot;s purchasing behavior, thus marketer should focus on advertisement to promote their perfume products. The study found that purchasing behavior is influenced by gender, females spent more of their money on perfume products than males. So marketer can target more on the female market. Peoples who perceived high social status will spend more money to buy perfume, so marketer can focus their market on high class society. Advertising appeals, tendency to spend, perceived social status and materialism have significant relationship with the purchasing behavior. However, this study performed only in the Malaysia context and without direct cross-cultural comparisons, it is difficult to determine the differential factors that may affect the quality of purchasing behavior on perfume across cultures. Besides, the data in this study were gathered from one just Kuantan District in Pahang state. So, the future research needs to conduct in different state to know more on consumer profile. In future, Lastly, similar study should increase the sample size to wider population because 120 respondents is not sufficient to generalize reliable results and fails to generalize the whole purchasing behavior on perfume among consumers. Acknowledgement I want to express my appreciation to Ms Hang Xiu Wen and Wong Chee Yien in converting part of the term paper into this paper. Knowing that there are rooms of improvement in this paper but their first attempt in publication should be given supports and encourages